


As the Sun Rises

by GemmaRose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, Huddling For Warmth, Wilderness Survival, Winter, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 18:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12281862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: A sequel torainingWolf's ficWhen the Sun Sets, written for theVLD Fanfic Remixevent on tumblr.





	As the Sun Rises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rainingWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainingWolf/gifts).
  * Inspired by [When the Sun Sets](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11710320) by [rainingWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainingWolf/pseuds/rainingWolf). 



Shiro woke to birdsong, of all things. He made to roll over, but stilled just in time as he remembered where he’d fallen asleep. He glanced to the side, and saw the woman from last night still sound asleep. Her hair, the whole head of it as white as his forelock, as white as the snow on the ground beneath them, was speckled with bits of tree bark and moss, or possibly lichen, Matt would know the difference. He shifted carefully, testing his limbs to make sure nothing had frozen off overnight. Thankfully his winter gear seemed to have done its job, and all his extremities were intact.

He could easily leave right now, just untie himself and strike out again towards where he and Keith had always agreed to meet in case of the apocalypse, but it was still dark enough to justify staying put a while longer. The sky was overcast, too, which meant no matter when he struck out it would be sensible to find and secure shelter as soon as possible. Being caught out in a snowstorm was just about the last thing he needed right now. Or ever, really.

The sky slowly lightened, pale gold fingers stretching down through the thin end of the clouds which had crept overhead in the night, and at length the woman, Allura, stirred. Shiro started untying himself, and only looked back over her way when he heard her let out a sleepy groan which sounded entirely too much like “don’ wanna” to be a truly unconscious sound. Sure enough, he found her with her eyes half open and mouth turned down in a pout, staring up at the clouds through the skeletal fingers of bare branches overhead.

“Good morning.” he said, pitching his voice so it wouldn’t carry farther than the next tree. These days, it was better safe than sorry. Better safe than dead, one more body in the horde. Allura startled, twisting to look at him with wide eyes, and he gave her his best reassuring smile before starting to coil his rope back into a loop. She relaxed after a second, and started undoing the knots holding her in her own tree.

“It’s going to snow soon.” he said, tucking his rope in his bag and carefully slinging it over his shoulders.

“I can see that.” Allura replied, her tone clipped.

“We should find somewhere to hunker down, wait it out.” he suggested. She gave him a downright poisonous glare.

“And why should I leave my path to travel with a fool like you? I barely know your name, Mr. White.”

Shiro winced. She did have a point there. “My full family name is Shirogane.” he offered. “I’m headed south, but I don’t have to be where I’m going immediately.”

Allura gave him another suspicious look as she tucked her own coil of rope in her pack. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have some company, as long as we’re headed the same direction.” she conceded, dropping her bag to the ground and shimmying down after it. Shiro climbed down his own tree, and let Allura pick their heading. It would be worth a bit of a delay to have some company again. Someone who probably wouldn’t stab him in the ribs and steal his shit. He got the feeling that if Allura was going to kill him, she would’ve done it last night.

Their boots crunched through the snow, and Shiro let himself relax slightly as they walked. The ice-crusted powder was pristine, untouched save for the odd animal trail, and he pushed down the urge to stoop and gather a handful of snow to eat. That would lower his core body temperature, which was a very bad thing in this weather.

“Where are you headed?” Allura asked after what felt like at least an hour. The sky overhead was growing darker, but still there was nowhere in sight that Shiro would call an adequate shelter from the oncoming storm.

“Nevada.” he answered honestly. “My brother and I made an apocalypse shelter out in the desert, back when we lived there.”

“Huh.” Allura glanced over her shoulder, her expression unreadable. “I’m looking for my brother as well. He’s attending college in the same state.”

Shiro grinned as Allura looked back at the path ahead. “Well, if we find your brother first, you’re both welcome to come to the shelter with me. It’s not very big, but Keith and I stocked it pretty well. He’s always been a bit of a nut about apocalyptic conspiracy theories.”

“He sounds... interesting.” Allura said. Shiro snorted.

“He sounds like a weirdo.” he corrected. “But then again, little brothers usually do.”

That got a giggle out of Allura, and Shiro lapsed back into silence with a grin. The sky continued to darken, and soon small flakes of snow began to fall. Shiro tried to catch one on his tongue, just for the hell of it.

“There.” Allura said without warning, and Shiro following her pointing finger to a tangle of fallen trees. There was noticeably less snow underneath them, probably thanks to the mess of interlocking branches with dead leaves still clinging to them which formed a sort of ceiling. “We can pack the sides with snow, and at least be out of the wind.” she turned and started heading towards the pseudo-structure, and Shiro followed suit. The snow wasn’t perfect for the job, but with one of them inside and one outside they were able to mostly fill the gaps.

Shiro fell to the ground shivering once he got inside the newly mostly-insulated shelter, and pulled his scarf down to breathe the cold, sharp air. The light level had fallen alarmingly, sunlight blocked out by heavy clouds and heavier snowfall, and he strained his ears to listen for threats. A touch on his shoulder made him jump, and he whirled to see Allura smiling at him.

“Get some rest, Shiro. I’ll keep watch for walkers.”

Shiro shook his head, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. “Not tired.” he said simply, and Allura sighed as she settled against his side.

“Fine, but don’t complain when I make you take first watch.” she said firmly.

Slowly, snow stopped falling into their little enclosure, piling up on the branches above until it formed a solid little roof. Shiro felt his eyes drooping as he watched the white powder build up outside the narrow entrance they’d left open, and shook himself awake at the sound of gentle snores in his ear. He glanced to the side, and blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Nope, that was really Allura asleep on his shoulder. She looked younger when she wasn’t wearing such a stern expression, and he wondered how old she was.

The white hair and harsh demeanor had initially lead him to assume she was in her 50s, but now... she looked no older than him, though he still wouldn’t guess any younger than Matt. He carefully removed his backpack, and after some gentle probing managed to position it with its softest part up and angled towards Allura. Laying her down gently on his pack, he rose to his knees and shuffled over to the entrance. It was almost halfway filled with snow now, and letting themselves be sealed in sounded like a spectacularly shitty plan, especially since carbon dioxide was heavier than oxygen.

Outside the shelter was several degrees colder than inside, and he spent a few minutes shoving snow up along the edges of the entrance before retreating back out of the wind. It wasn’t warm by any means, but it was better than being stranded in the storm. Allura shivered violently, and Shiro carefully pulled her up off the ground. He was tempted to wake her and suggest they share body heat, but he had a feeling he’d get slapped for suggesting it. Besides, his bedroll was one of the things left behind when the last house he bunked down in turned out to be not as zombie-proof as he’d thought, so it wasn’t like they’d have anything to trap their body heat anyways.

When his eyes refused to stay open any longer he shook Allura awake, and showed her the makeshift doorway he’d been fashioning out of snow which fell in front of the entrance. She nodded along through his explanation, and then lead him back to the spot where she’d been laying. Shrugging off her own bag, she rummaged inside it for a few seconds and pulled out something that looked an awful lot like a smallish tarp which happened to be reflective on one side. It was a blanket, Shiro realised as she unfolded it and spread it on the ground. One of those high-end ones that reflected heat back in at you. He wrapped himself up in it as Allura took a seat to keep watch, and was asleep before he’d even stopped shivering.

When he woke in the morning he found his coat wrapped around his legs, a warm body pressed against his front, and an awful lot of hair in his mouth. He pulled the hair free, made a face at the back of Allura’s head, and rested his arm over her waist. She was still wearing at least two shirts, possibly three, but without her thick coat Shiro could tell that she was lean and muscular. He wondered what kind of life she’d lead, before things fell apart.

The short tunnel which lead to the outdoors began to glow with the first pale fingers of sunrise, and Shiro smiled as his eyes slid shut again. If nothing else, he’d have plenty of time to find out while they were on their way to Nevada.


End file.
